Exploratory laboratory study of lateral turbulent diffusion at the surface of an alluvial channel

URI

View/Open

Metadata

Abstract

In natural streams turbulent diffusion is one of the principal mechanisms by which liquid and suspended-particulate contaminants are dispersed in the flow. A knowledge of turbulence characteristics is therefore essential in predicting the dispersal rates of contaminants in streams. In this study the theory of diffusion by continuous movements for homogeneous turbulence is applied to lateral diffusion at the surface of an open channel in which there is uniform flow. An exploratory laboratory investigation was conducted in which the lateral dispersion at the water surface of a sand-bed flume was ...